Calgary Flames All Time Roster - #7 Defenseman

[ForeverFlameFan]

I had put Brodie before, but after thinking about it, Dion had a pretty good run here with the Flames. He went super downhill afterwards, but we cannot deny that he was one of the best defenseman in the league when he was wearing a Flames sweater, whether we hate him or not.

[looooob]

As a flame though? 18th and 16th all time in flames D for games played and points, second last all time (Butler) in plus minus and zero playoff games

Whether that’s on him or the era of the team he played on it’s hard for me to put Flames JayBo in the top 7

Career? Yes I think so- Housley is the challenger there I’d suppose

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by troutman

JayBo is the best player in this list. Or Housley.

Maybe the best skater.

[blender]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

Maybe the best skater.

I'd say that is Brodie

[FireGilbert]

If McCrimmon gets 6th based on elite play over a short time then you have to give Phaneuf 7th for the same reason.

I am realising though how many Flames fans hate Phaneuf. To me it’s been a decade since the trade and I’ve gotten over it.

[zuluking]

C’mon, somebody feed Phil!

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

If McCrimmon gets 6th based on elite play over a short time then you have to give Phaneuf 7th for the same reason.

I am realising though how many Flames fans hate Phaneuf. To me it’s been a decade since the trade and I’ve gotten over it.

One contributed heavily to a Stanley Cup winning team and played 37 games in the playoffs...the other one was pretty good on an OK team for 3 years that couldnt win a series.

No comparison other than length of time which Dion had the edge in for sure, and he was clearly better offensively but miles behind defensive wise.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

If McCrimmon gets 6th based on elite play over a short time then you have to give Phaneuf 7th for the same reason.

I am realising though how many Flames fans hate Phaneuf. To me it’s been a decade since the trade and I’ve gotten over it.

Not me, I didn't vote McCrimmon last round either, I voted Brodie then too.

If Brodie had gotten in at 6th my next vote would have been Macoun or McCrimmon.

[Strange Brew]

I’d like to see a run off. No one has even a third of the votes.

Housley is the best player remaining, but Phaneuf the best tenure as a Flame. Brodie is a good defenseman who has played here a long time.

I voted Dion.

[Flashpoint]

Neon Dion? Really? Some of you firgetting how badly out of position he left himself when he went for the “highlight” plays? Yeah, he was on sportscenter every game... win or lose.

How many playoff rounds did he win again? 3, all with Ottawa’s single run to the final.

Brodie? So the guy who was hot garbage when not playing with Gio then. Please.

Jamie Macoun deserves this spot.

[MrMike]

Originally Posted by Flashpoint

Neon Dion? Really? Some of you firgetting how badly out of position he left himself when he went for the “highlight” plays? Yeah, he was on sportscenter every game... win or lose.

How many playoff rounds did he win again? 3, all with Ottawa’s single run to the final.

Brodie? So the guy who was hot garbage when not playing with Gio then. Please.

Jamie Macoun deserves this spot.

There is such a unique area that the top 3/4 hit. Tenure for some people, peak for others. Hall of famer? It's fun the last player really comes down to such a split vote.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by troutman

JayBo is the best player in this list. Or Housley.

Yep, good enough for team canada multiple times but for some reason not the Flames. The team sucked when he was here...nobody was good statistically

[MrMike]

JBo was a solid number 3 for a long time.
Dion was a number one/2 while he was with us.
Housley was a 2/3 but offensive dynamo.
Brodie is in his own mixed category that I won’t even try to rank.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by dino7c

. The team sucked when he was here...

true and in the end that may sink him (but perhaps rightly).

looking at this all time team everyone on it played on either
89
86
04
or is a current Flame

except Tanguay (LW weakest depth wise) and Nilsson (who barely made it as a 'sub' despite eye popping numbers

7th D is going to test this a little bit- Macoun and Brodie 'qualify' by those parameters, Phaneuf, Housley, Jaybo do not

now there is 2 ways to look at this- some will say fans are guilty of romanticizing the players on the good teams (McCrimmon for example), others will respond the teams were only great because they had great players playing at a high level

[David Struch]

^ and how many times did Housley suit up for Team USA...

MacInnis & Housley were the best of the best in terms of offensive defensemen.

Housley led the Flames D for all 5 seasons that he played in Calgary, the year after he left, Chiasson was the scoring leader on D with a measly 16 points. (ouch!)

(Flames don't have another D that can produce 50+ points till Dion falls in to their laps)

[JohnnyB]

I agree with the Housley support. I chose Phaneuf this round though as a result of how good he was in his time with the Flames. He was pretty special for a while. If Phaneuf had continued his career at that level he would also be in HHOF alongside Housley. Housley is still a good choice though. Both of them are clearly a cut above Brodie.

[powderjunkie]

Housley's first stint was uber-impressive: 43 pts in 43 games lockout year, with 9 pts in 7 playoff games. Then 52 pts in 59 games before getting traded.

The subsequent stretch started when he was 34; still produced decent points, but Fleury and 35 year old Steve Smith played 2-3 mins more per game in his first year back. The next year Morris played an additional 80 seconds per game; Werenka and Darryl Shannon also exceeded Housley's 23:30ish per game, albeit in fewer games played. Albelin and Smith weren't far off. In his final year in Cgy, he dropped to 18:10 per game, 9th most of any player who played at least 50 games.

I guess my point is that he wasn't much more than a solid 2/3 d-man on the 2nd stint. Obviously the criteria here is loose, and one could make a similar argument about Brodie's entire tenure here, but I value his longevity.


It would be interesting to do this again as a 'wine bottle' team - where we are talking specifically about a single season for each player. Housley's 94-95 would merit serious consideration, whereas it might be harder to pick a standout year for a guy like Regehr. Would still be dominated by '86, '89, and '04 though.

[boogerz]

I was originally favoring Macoun for this spot, but I didn't get to see him play in the 80s/early-90s and he doesn't look any better than Brodie on paper. The fact that he was trusted to ride shotgun to MacInnis in the late-80s is really impressive though.



Jaybouw could be in consideration if Brent Sutter didn't criminally misuse him. As it stands today though, his tenure with the Flames wasn't better than Macoun, Brodie, Housley, or Phaneuf.



Housley and Phaneuf were better than all three, but it's a hard choice between these two, imo.



Housley was really, really good offensively in both stints he was here. Even in his second stint when he was pushing mid-30s, his skating/shot/hockey sense was still top-notch, he was playing big minutes, and he was a consistent scoring threat on the ice. Was he soft and questionable on defense...sure, but he was still top 10 in AST voting two times while he was a member of the Flames. In 98-99, Housley was one of three defensemen to get a 1st place Norris vote... the other two were MacInnis and Pronger. Housley would probably get more recognition if he wasn't forced into being paired with guys like Zarley Zalapski and almost-retired Steve Smith.

Phaneuf is impressive on paper, but he doesn't get those accolades if the NHL isn't in transition between the late-90s stars and the current crop of all-star defensemen. He was in the right place at the right time to be a Norris runner-up... beating Gonchar, Green, Markov, Campbell isn't that impressive compared to MacInnis/Suter/Housley/McCrimmon competing against Bourque/Leetch/Chelios/Coffey. Still though, Phaneuf was a breathe of fresh air coming out of the Young Guns era and when he was wasn't missing the net with this shot or getting out of position for a hit, he was damn good.

I'd go with Housley by a hair on this one.

[David Struch]

Does Phil Housley make the All-Time USA squad?

[boogerz]

Originally Posted by David Struch

Does Phil Housley make the All-Time USA squad?

Yes, but there's isn't much competition. There's a big talent drop-off after him, Chelios, Leetch, Howe, Suter, Suter, and Langway